Nacht
by HuntingPeople
Summary: They were late by exactly 2 weeks, 4 days, 3 hours, 25 minutes and 15 seconds. Not that Levi was keeping track or anything, he just had an incredibly accurate sense of time. Ereri. Mistaken/assumed death. Happy ending. Please R&R!


**EDIT*03/01/18/ This is 18 year old Grisha here to tell you I'm tryna get back into writing by going through my old fics and fixing spelling/grammar mistakes, and re-writing small parts to try and improve them! All while crying because oh my God these are so old why**

 **I really don't like how this came out, and I'm pretty sure I've been saying that on every fanfic I've posted recently ;A; I just feel like I've gotten worse at writing over time, but on the other hand I feel like my drawing skill has increased by like 41826401678324t5918%, might just be because a lot has been happening recently and I've been focusing more on my drawing than my writing.**

 **Eh, hope you like it anyway, I'm gonna try and write some more and hopefully I'll feel more confident if I just practice some more?**

* * *

They were late by exactly 2 weeks, 4 days, 3 hours, 25 minutes and 15 seconds. Not that Levi was keeping track or anything, he just had an incredibly accurate sense of time.

He was, in no way, worried about his husband, or his friends, or his husband's friends. Nope, Levi wasn't worried about any of the soldiers on the latest expedition, not at all. So what if Levi hadn't received word about what was going on, no news was good news, right?

Even if Levi wanted to be worried or scared, he didn't exactly have the time. He was left in charge of headquarters and the few soldiers that were left behind.

That meant he had to make sure the entire castle was kept clean, make sure those damn brats did all of their jobs properly, that he had to answer any and all questions they had, that he had to constantly reassure them that the expedition was going fine. He also had both his own and Erwin's paperwork to do, as well as do most of the paperwork for the other squad leaders and hundreds of other miscellaneous jobs.

Besides all of those tasks, he also had the job of making sure he actually took care of himself and didn't accidentally die from starvation, dehydration or sleep deprivation.

Oh, who was he kidding? It was tearing Levi up inside, not knowing whether or not Eren was alive. He was stressed beyond belief, yelling at cadets for the smallest of mishaps, and lying awake most nights just hoping and praying Eren was OK.

He hated that he was so helpless, there wasn't anything he could do back at headquarters and he hated that Erwin wouldn't let him go on the expedition. Levi had no idea why or how that decision was even made, wasn't he supposed to stop Eren if he ever went out of control when using his titan? How could Levi do that if he was miles away? And what about his squad? He needed to be there for them, didn't he?

Levi just had to continue on with his tasks and wait until they returned, no matter how long it took.

* * *

An entire month passed, and no matter how much Levi didn't want to, he was beginning to lose hope that anyone had survived and was going to come back. It was just too long, they didn't have enough supplies outside the walls, and they definitely didn't bring that many with them.

Levi and the fifty or so cadets left behind were probably the only members of the Survey Corps now.

He was about to call it a day when a cadet burst into his room, and before he could even reprimand them they were yelling "Th-they're back, captain! We just got the word, they're back, come on! Hurry up!"

Levi stood up so fast his chair fell over and he knocked his desk out of place, which caused an ink pot to tip over and spill ink everywhere, but he ignored it, "Who's back, cadet?"

"The Survey Corps obviously! Come on, your horse should be ready to go by now!" The cadet said quickly, then rushed off, not even bothering to wait for Levi's answer.

All of Levi's hope immediately returned at those words. He sprung into action, grabbing his boots and trying to put them on while running at the same time. He didn't even bother taking the stairs, he just jumped out of the window and used his gear and the castle walls to get to the stables.

Levi's horse must have sensed his urgency, because as soon as he was settled, she was taking off, galloping as fast as she could towards the nearest district. Levi barely even registered the sound of the cadets scrambling to try and follow him.

To say the streets were crowded was an understatement, the people were packed in so tightly, there wasn't a single millimetre of space between them. Levi left his horse with one of the cadets before he began to shove his way to the front of the crowd, ignoring the angry words of those he hurt.

Levi spotted Erwin at the front of the group of Survey Corps soldiers, his clothes dirty and torn, looking completely exhausted, but also somewhat... happy. Erwin was followed by the soldiers that had survived without dying or even sustaining any major injuries, they all looked the same, exhausted but happy.

The group passed and Levi never spotted Eren, he guessed that Eren had used his titan form and was now unconscious in a wagon with other injured soldiers. Or maybe one of his friends had gotten seriously injured, and Eren decided to ride next to them to keep them company.

Countless wagons passed, and it was hard to see into them, the soldiers riding on their horses next to the wagons blocking most of the view. Levi wondered if it'd be best to keep an eye out for some of Eren's friends instead, just in case.

As the last few wagons of injured soldiers passed, Levi began to lose hope all over again. He could feel tears welling in his eyes, and he did nothing to stop them. A few years ago he wouldn't even dare to cry alone, but now he just couldn't care less. It didn't matter if anyone saw humanity's strongest crying now, his husband was dead and he needed to mourn.

Someone put a hand on his shoulder and he smacked it away, then turned to go find his horse, but then someone was calling out his name. Turning back around, he spotted Armin waving at him from his place at the front of a wagon.

In and around the wagon were the rest of Eren's friends and Levi's squad, including Eren himself. The young man was leaning against the edge of the wagon, looking more exhausted than anyone, like he'd been up for a week straight. If it wasn't for Mikasa repeatedly pinching his arm, Eren would most definitely be sleeping.

Despite his exhaustion, the brunet still had enough energy to grin and wave at his husband.

Levi felt weak and he thought he'd collapse as he ran to the wagon, but he made it there without incident. Mikasa helped him climb into the wagon and then he was enveloped in those oh so familiar arms, his nose filled with that familiar scent.

"I'm home." Eren smiled into Levi's hair, holding the older man close.

"You idiot! What took you so long?" Levi sobbed, his hand gripping tightly to Eren's torn cloak. "Six months Eren! You've been gone for six months! I thought... I thought you were dead!"

"Ssshh, Levi, I'm fine, I'm OK." Eren murmured soothingly, rocking Levi gently, "The expedition was going well, so the commander wanted to try and go a little further than planned." Eren explained softly, "Please don't kill him though."

"Don't tell me what to do."

Eren chuckled and pressed his lips to Levi's head, "When we get back I'm gonna take a two-year long nap and you're joining me, so you won't even have the chance to get him."

"Mm, I like the sound of that." Levi hummed, "Welcome home, brat."

* * *

 **Fun fact: The working title for this was 'Five Nights at Freddy's', and then when I finished writing this I couldn't think of an actual name so I just titled it 'Nacht' which is German for night O3O**

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